In the past few months, due to the rise in international oil prices, some developed countries have greatly increased the use of biofuels and used corn to make ethanol instead of gasoline, which led to a sharp increase in international corn prices. After the new grain was listed in October, corn traders in China began a war to grab grain.

The "hand of the world" pushes up China's prices

Living at home, cooking with oil, salt, sauce and vinegar. In the first half of this year, one thing that people in China have been chanting is how the food is so expensive; A very professional economics vocabulary: consumer price index CPI, has now become a popular word. Indeed, the increase of food and grain eaten by China people in the first half of the year is not small.

in June and July of last year, the weather was hot, which was the off-season of pork sales, and the price of meat generally fell. However, this year is somewhat abnormal, and pork prices in China have started to rise for the second time. According to the latest agricultural product price monitoring report of the Ministry of Agriculture of China, in June, the wholesale price of pork nationwide increased by 74.6% year-on-year.

what changes have pork prices brought to people's lives?

The prices of grain, oil, eggs, meat and other foods in China generally rose

From January to May this year, the price of food in China increased by 6.8% year-on-year, which was a big increase. The main reason was that the price of food rose and caused the price of meat, poultry, eggs, oil and other related foods to rise. In the same period, the price of grain in China increased by 6.4% year-on-year, the price of meat and poultry and its products increased by 17.8%, and the price of fresh eggs increased by 26.5%.

In a farmer's market in Dalian, Liaoning Province, Liu Hongsheng, who went to buy pork, was bargaining with the merchants selling pork.

reporter: "does it matter, for eating meat?"

Liu hongsheng: "Eat less, you can eat more at 9 yuan (RMB, the same below) a catty, and workers will lose weight if they don't eat meat."

Liu Hongsheng told reporters that the price of pork has increased by more than five yuan per catty in the past two months. What annoys him is that the price of pork in the afternoon actually increased by one yuan compared with the previous days.

Liu hongsheng: "I have to eat this piece of meat three times."

Liu Hongsheng calculated that the prices of pork, eggs, poultry and grain are rising. From the end of last year to now, pork has increased by 1 yuan, eggs have increased by more than 2 yuan, a barrel of soybean oil has increased by 1 yuan, and even a catty of corn and other grains has increased by more than 1 yuan. After careful calculation, his family's living expenses will increase by more than 8 yuan every month.

Liu hongsheng: "In the past, eggs at home weighed more than 2 Jin a month, but now they weigh 1 Jin and 8 Jin."

reporter: "reduced by half?"

Liu hongsheng: "It's reduced by half."

During this period, Liu Hongsheng came before the market closed, hoping to buy some cheap things. This afternoon, he originally planned to buy another barrel of soybean oil, but after asking about the price, he decided not to buy it. The cost of living has increased, and Liu Hongsheng has to be careful. The reporter saw that there are also merchants in the market who have to calculate the economic account. At seven o'clock in the afternoon, it was long past the closing time of the vegetable market, but there was a lot of meat left in Liang Qin's pork stall. She decided to reduce the price of meat by one yuan.

Liang Qin: "ordinary people don't eat at all. They have no money to buy it. They can't afford it. That catty of meat is so small."

Reporter: "Did you buy less meat?"

Liang Qin: "Less, very little."

reporter: "how many pigs can I sell before?"

Liang Qin: "I used to sell four, five, five or six, but now I can sell two a day, and I can't sell the rest."

Liang Qin said that the price of meat has gone up, but her profit has dropped a lot.

Liang Qin: "If the price of pork goes up and the price of meat can't go up, can you make money?"

reporter: "isn't it all ten dollars now?"

Liang Qin: "Ten dollars, the price of our meat can't catch up with that of the pig."

reporter: "which pig is more powerful?"

Liang Qin: "Right."

Li Damei, a grain and oil merchant, is also worried about selling goods. During this period, the price of grain and oil has risen so much that Li Damei can't believe it.

Li Damei: "We are in a hurry, too. We can't accept the increase. How much was a bag of rice noodles in the past, 45, 47, and now it's 56 from 47? How much is the increase?"

Reporter: "It went up by 9 yuan."

It can be seen from Li Damei's purchase records that from the beginning of this year, soybeans, corn and flour have all grown a lot. Soybean oil has risen the most, and the purchase price has been high. Li Damei can only follow the rising tide, but as a result, the business has been sluggish. Now there is no wholesaler in sight, and only the surrounding residents buy some rice and flour in bits and pieces.

Li Damei: "Why is it so expensive? Can you afford it? That is to say, it can't be cheaper, I said it is expensive. "

Li Damei: "The retail price of salad oil is 4.3. If you sell it in 4.4 yuan, you will earn a dime.

the goods can't be sold, and the grain that Li Damei bought some time ago has begun to grow worms.

Li Damei: "I don't know if there are still worms. See? People with worms don't like it, and people with worms don't like it."

Reporter: "Corn loves worms."

Li Damei: "Beans like this love worms. Flour can't be put here. It's hairy."

What worries Li Damei is that if the price of grain and oil continues to rise, it will be difficult for her business to continue.

Li Damei: "It's already done, so just keep it up. What about it? There's nothing I can do now. I can't do it if I don't do it. The booth fee has been given to others. Isn't it a dry compensation if I don't do it? "

what is driving food prices?

It's not just pork that is going up in price. According to the statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, from January to May this year, the price of grain increased by 6.4% year-on-year. As the foundation of the food industry, grain has become the main force to promote this round of food price increase. So, what is the reason for driving food prices?

Xu Guozhong, a corn trader, told us that in recent months, the top priority he has to do every day is to send people to the corn producing areas to grab food sources.

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Song Yuan Enterprise Group, Dalian: "Including loans from all over the country, including those who have money, all go there to grab grain. Look at the following, it is the original grain depot, the useless grain depot, which has not been started for several years, and some people rent a depot and collect it there."

Xu Guozhong recalled that this scene first appeared in October 26, when the listing of corn was delayed for more than one month due to the weather. In the previous months, due to the rising international oil price, some developed countries greatly increased the use of biofuels and used corn to make ethanol instead of gasoline, which led to a sharp increase in international corn prices. After the new grain was listed in October, domestic corn traders began to fight for grain.

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Song Yuan Enterprise Group, Dalian: "Did Bush also mention that a large amount of ethanol should be used to replace this oil? This must be what the United States does now, including these straws and potatoes. They also use this for processing, but a large amount of corn is still used."

Reporter: "Use corn to make ethanol?"

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Dalian Song Yuan Enterprise Group Company: "Well, convert it into ethanol."

Xu Guozhong learned from foreign customers that the US government plans to replace 1% of its gasoline demand with ethanol. In 2, the amount of corn used for ethanol production in the United States only accounted for 6%, reached 14% in 25, reached 2% in 26, and will increase to 24% in 27. He also learned that more than 1 ethanol plants have been built in the United States, and 42 others are under construction. Soon after the news was announced, the price of corn rose again.

it started in early October, at 13, and the port was around 132, which is the normal price. It took less than a month, so how much has it increased by November? Has risen to 148.

Reporter: "It has increased by more than 1 yuan in one month."

The price trend of corn is promising, but at this time, it is becoming more and more difficult to harvest corn. It turned out that farmers began to station grain and stopped selling it.

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Dalian Song Yuan Enterprise Group, said: "After the increase, farmers stopped selling even more."

reporter: "reluctant to sell?"

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Dalian Song Yuan Enterprise Group Company: "Hey, yes, it was delayed for a whole month and a half, that is, before the listing. This led to the price not coming down in November and December."

The grain source is in short supply, and traders try their best to buy corn. Xu Guozhong told us that this is not just for business, but the price is rising too fast. If he is a little slower, he will lose money.

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Dalian Song Yuan Enterprise Group, said: "I have finished signing with foreign investors. After signing, the price is fixed. When you buy again, the price will rise again."

In order to maintain customers, Mr. Xu had to sell at a loss. In the following month, corn became more and more difficult to harvest. Xu Guozhong found that many places in China began to make ethanol and starch from corn on a large scale, which made him very anxious.

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Dalian Song Yuan Enterprise Group Company, said: "Processing starch and sugar, you are like that big city in Jilin Province, with yellow farmers, including Celesta, and a few more ethanol and alcohol from Jilin, deep processing will definitely grab a lot of food sources."

After the Spring Festival, Xu Guozhong heard another news. The relevant state departments have issued a policy to increase the corn export quota. This year, the corn export quota will increase by 1 million tons. Xu Guozhong, who has been in business for many years, predicts that the corn price will rise again.

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Dalian Song Yuan Enterprise Group Company: "You also buy domestic trade and foreign trade, so the grain source is tight."

Just over a month later, the price of corn soared by more than 1 yuan, which made Xu Guozhong start to worry.

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Dalian Song Yuan Enterprise Group Company: "That must be worrying. Food prices must be rising too fast, and I am afraid it will go down."

However, the hot corn market did not stop because of Xu Guozhong's worry. At this time, the bulk grain transportation terminal at Dalian Port was busy, and traders were busy buying and transporting grain, even the transportation price increased a lot.

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Dalian Song Yuan Enterprise Group Company, said: "In the past, it was possible to rent large ships for 65 (RMB, the same below) and 7. Later, it rose to 12 and 13, with a maximum of 15 and a maximum of 17."

Xu Guozhong recalls that in late April, the price of corn was more than 6 yuan per ton higher than that of the same period last year. This soaring data made him a little uneasy, but before he slowed down the pace of acquisition, the situation turned around. In early May, the National Development and Reform Commission issued a policy prohibiting domestic enterprises from producing ethanol from corn, and the price of corn dropped rapidly. Thousands of tons of corn purchased by Xu Guozhong at a high price were all on his hands. Together with the contract losses some time ago, his losses were heavy.

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Dalian Song Yuan Enterprise Group, said: "This loss is more than 1 million yuan, from grain grabbing to now."

Now, Xu Guozhong has no way to recover the loss except waiting for the price to stabilize.

Xu Guozhong, general manager of Dalian Song Yuan Enterprise Group, said: "The mood must be bad. Without the loss, the corn will lose money."

It seems that the fluctuation of the international market and the change of domestic policies are all influencing the market price of corn. Corn dealers have a hard time in this round of fluctuations. In fact, just as the price of corn rose sharply a while ago, soybeans and soybean oil also joined the ranks of price increases, pushing food prices to rise with it.

In Dalian Huiliang Soybean Technology Co., Ltd., we met the general manager Wang Yumin. As soon as they met, he poured out his bitter water to the reporter.

Wang Yumin, manager of Dalian Huiliang Soybean Technology Co., Ltd.: "At present, the profit of such a barrel of oil is less than fifty cents."

Reporter: "The profit of a barrel of oil is less than 5 cents?"

Wang Yumin, manager of Dalian Huiliang Soybean Technology Co., Ltd.: "Yes, the profit of our factory in the first half of 27 was more than 13 million. The annual output value of our large enterprise is several billion, and the profit of more than 1 million is too low."

Wang Yumin said that the low profits of enterprises are mainly due to the increase in costs this year. From the beginning of this year to now, the price of soybeans has soared by more than 3%, and his costs have reached the limit. Wang Yumin told us that this soybean price increase was originally expected by him.

Wang Yumin, manager of Dalian Huiliang Soybean Technology Co., Ltd.: "The main reason is that in January of this year, the price of edible oil in China rose to 85, which was around 7, which drove the price of soybeans up. Another main reason is the speculation of the concepts of biodiesel and bioenergy, which should be a major reason for the rise of imported soybeans."

As early as a few years ago, Wang Yumin learned that the industry of producing ethanol from corn in developed countries is growing day by day. For example, in some countries in South America, most of the land originally planted with soybeans has been planted with corn, and the price of soybeans has already started to rise. Last year, due to the international oil price increase, many western countries also began to produce biodiesel from soybean oil, which made the global soybean supply in short supply. In the first half of this year, the price of imported soybeans suddenly rose from 2,8 to 3,4.

Wang Yumin, manager of Dalian Huiliang Soybean Technology Co., Ltd.: "This increase in oil price should be expected, but the increase is so large that it is still unexpected."

Wang Yumin calculated an account. Due to the high cost of planting, transporting and storing domestic soybeans in China, the use of domestic soybeans to produce soybean oil is more than 2 yuan per ton higher than that of imported soybeans. Since the establishment of the factory, they can only rely on imported soybeans from the United States. Seeing the sharp increase in the price of imported soybeans, Wang Yumin has sent people to the Northeast for many times to purchase domestic soybeans, but what worries him is that due to the western development.